Ireland vs South Africa Match Preview, 2nd T20I

Ireland take on South Africa in the second T20I of the series at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. 

The first game saw short passages where Irish potency was visible, but it was not to be as Ryan Rickelton and Reeza Hendricks plundered away the bowling attack.

The powerplay phase, in particular, was capitalized big time by both sides. Ireland scored 63 runs but lost a couple of batters in the process. What worked for the Proteas is the fact that they went unscathed during the first six.

Curtis Campher led the way for Ireland with a well-crafted 49. He missed his fourth T20I half-century by a whisker. Wicketkeeper-batter, Neil Rock, gave Campher, who was playing his 100th international, good company in the middle as they struck together a vital 59-run knock.

It was another thing that Ireland couldn't make the most out of the final two overs of their innings. Some truly fantastic use of variations by Lizaad Williams and Patrick Kruger limited the Irish to just eight runs in the 19th and 20th overs. Kruger registered a triple-wicket maiden over in the last over of their innings.

Rickelton and Hendricks shared a historic partnership, the Proteas' highest away from home in T20Is, as their 136-run stand in 13 overs took the game away from Ireland's reach. Matthew Humphreys was the pick of the bowlers as the rest of the lineup was expensive.

The impending game will be an intriguing one with both the teams approaching the game with different incentives in store.

Click Here: IRE vs SA 2024 Schedule

Match Details 

Click Here: Ireland vs South Africa, 2nd T20I - Live Cricket Score

Pitch Report

67 T20Is have been played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi so far. The teams batting first have won 28 times, while chasing teams have emerged victorious on 38 occurrences. The average first innings score at the venue is around 143. The skipper who wins the toss would prefer to bowl first. Spinners are expected to come into the picture through the middle overs when the balls start getting older.

Head-to-Head Record

Probable Playing XIs

Ireland

With Fionn Hand having an expensive outing, it could be expected that the Irish management brings Johannesburg-born Graham Hume into the mix.

Predicted XI: Paul Stirling (c), Ross Adair, Harry Tector, Curtis Campher, Neil Rock (wk), George Dockrell, Mark Adair, Ben White, Graham Hume, Craig Young, Matthew Humphreys.

Also Read: Batting in T20 cricket can be a bit of a rollercoaster: Lorcan Tucker

South Africa

The Proteas are anticipated to go into the second T20I with an unchanged XI.

Predicted XI: Matthew Breetzke, Ryan Rickelton, Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs (wk), Jason Smith, Wiaan Mulder, Bjorn Fortuin, Ottniel Baartman, Lizaad Williams, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi.